Noticing God in All of Our Emotions with Dr. Kevin Chapman

Many of us default to suppressing our emotions. Yet, even our most challenging emotions reveal our beliefs about ourselves, others, and God.

Instead of avoiding our complex emotions, how can we faithfully engage them and learn to rewire our responses to them with God as our guide?

In this episode, host Jay Y. Kim welcomes Dr. Kevin Chapman (PhD, A-CBT, HSPP), a licensed clinical psychologist and founder of the Kentucky Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders. Dr. Chapman is the author of Mastering Our Emotions, founder of Sound Mind Ministries, and host of The Sound Mind Show on YouTube. His expert wisdom has been featured on TLC, The Today Show, and other major platforms.

Throughout their conversation, Dr. Chapman breaks down the three components of emotions—thoughts, physical feelings, and behaviors—and how they influence each other. He introduces practical tools like the Emotional SEAL framework, Practice In His Presence (PIP), and breathing techniques to aid us in being present with our emotions. Their discussion also explores how emotional avoidance reinforces distorted beliefs about God and poses greater mental health risks. By instead pondering and parsing our emotions with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can experience wholeness and transformation through God’s loving presence. 

With God’s company and comfort, we can reprogram our perception of our emotions and how we respond to them.

Tune in to learn how to engage your emotions with honesty, curiosity, and hope to more accurately see God for the loving Father he is.

This episode highlights the following themes:

• Understanding the triad of emotions: thoughts, physical feelings, and behaviors 
• The importance of being present with our emotions rather than avoiding them 
• How the Holy Spirit helps us navigate our emotional experiences

Links from this episode: 

• Learn more about Dr. Kevin Chapman
• The Sound Mind Show on YouTube 
• Dr. Kevin Chapman's book Mastering Our Emotions
• Read the transcript here

God is present; do we notice him? As the world gets louder, listening to God’s voice becomes increasingly challenging. We are bombarded by the chaos of our feeds, by distractions both inside and out, and by the everyday cacophony that drowns out the calm of a life lived in close communion with God. In this season of The Digital Examen, pastor, and author Jay Y. Kim guides us toward reorienting our lives so that we can notice God with the entirety of our beings—heart, soul, mind, strength—in both the mundane and majestic moments of everyday life. 

Learn more about The Digital Examen

Learn more about your host, Jay Y. Kim

Read Analog Church and Analog Christian by Jay Y. Kim

Listen to Meditations from The Digital Examen

Download a Guide to The Examen.

Links and Credits

✅ Special offer: Visit ivpress.com and use the code IVPOD25 for 25% off any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.

✅ Consulting Producer: Helen Lee

✅ Producers: Christine Pelliccio Melo and Travis Albritton

✅ Production Assistant: Jack Reece

✅ Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts

✅ Social Media Managers: Allie Noble and Makayla Payne

✅ Podcast Art: Kate Lillard and Elsbette San Blas

✅ Theme Song: "For They Will Inherit the Earth" by Stephen Keech

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.